Given the increase of malicious activity in the current threatlandscape, consumers need to be more cautious when browsing theInternet. Web browsers are now supporting an increasing number oftechnologies. The more a Web browser has to deal with, the more likelya security hole will be inadvertently coded into it. Therefore, it's nowonder attackers are targeting the growing number of vulnerabilities inWeb browsers.
Over the last six months of 2006 we have been tracking thedistribution of attacks targeting Web browsers. The results show thatMicrosoft’s Internet Explorer leads with an extremely large margin inthe number of attackers targeting it. The primary focus of attacksseems to target ActiveX controls; ActiveX controls are not strictly apart of the browser, but simply provide functionality that can be usedby the browser. This brings into question the security viability ofMicrosoft’s latest version of their popular browser Internet Explorer 7.
As spring quickly approaches, the Internet continues to grow into amore and more complex world driven by commerce. Businesses have longsince moved in and millions of dollars change hands every day online.Along with big business comes organized crime. Perhaps not necessarilythe organized crime immortalized in stories like The Godfather or The Sopranos,but Internet crimes are carried out in an organized way designed toconnect the theft of a single person’s user account credentials to abuyer on the mass market for illegal information. Throughout thisorganization, bots play the leading role.
Bots, once used primarily by their owners to carry out denial ofservice attacks driven by grudges, bragging rights, or politicalmotives, have been firmly incorporated into the toolkit of organizedcrime on the Internet. Bots can do pretty much anything: carry outattacks, host spam relays, carry out DoS attacks, host phishing sites,and log keystrokes on the computer they...
February's Home and Home Office Security Report covers a number ofsecurity issues, including this month's "Hot Topic," which describes anattack targeting insecure routers that could allow a hacker to view allthe information you type online, including passwords! Recently,researchers have discovered a method that hackers may be able to use tobreak into your networks through your home wireless or wired router. Totake advantage of this issue, a hacker would simply have to entice youto load a Web page that they control. Once loaded, the site wouldhijack your router and allow the hacker to control the Web sites thatyou visit. For example, if you type in the Web address of your bank,the hacker could redirect your request to a site that is designed tolook like your bank's Web site, but is, in fact, controlled by thehacker. Any information that you enter on the hacker-controlled sitewould be viewable by the hacker, including user names and passwords foronline banking, credit card...
What better time than January to review last year's security issuesand discuss predictions for the coming months of 2007. This issue ofSymantec's Home and Home Office Security Report looks into this, aswell as discussing current potential risks and threats that couldimpact home and home office users.
On January 20, 2007, a critical security flaw in Apple iChat wasreported. Hackers could use the flaw to break into your computer,allowing them to read your email messages and address books, steal yourfiles and software, and use your computer to carry out further hackingattempts. A hacker could also take advantage of the flaw by enticingyou to visit a malicious Web site or open a malicious file. When theWeb site is loaded or the file is opened, the malicious content willtake advantage of the flaw and allow the attacker to gain control ofyour computer. At the time of this writing, Apple had not yet releasedsolutions for all of these problems, but you can protect yourself...
Well, it’s now November and time to startthinking about buying presents for the holiday season. In the last fewyears, one of the most popular choices for presents has been one of themany different MP3 players on the market. Two incidents occurred inOctober that may make you think twice before connecting that new playerto your computer. Reports surfaced that a small number of Apple’s VideoiPods were infected with the Rajumpvirus. The virus was traced back to a Windows-based computer that wasused to test the devices during the manufacturing process.Additionally, some of the MP3 players given away as part of a promotionby McDonald’s in Japan were infected with a virus. Any new device thatyou connect to your computer should always be scanned with anup-to-date antivirus product before you allow it to synchronize anyfiles.
